Can stacker



y 1943. H. w. WI LSON 2,318,444

CAN STACKER Filed May 31, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 4, 1943.

w. WILSON CAN STACKER Filed May 31, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmN Jay:

ZZZ 20/7/07.

y 1943- H. w. WILSON 2,318,444

cAN STACKER A Filed May 51, 1940 s sheets-s eet s May 4, 1943. H. w.WILSON CAN STACKER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

6 Filed May 31, 1940- -1 May 4, 1943. H. w. WILSON CAN STACKER Filed May31, 1940 5 She ets-Sheet 5 [ZUeW g ad/and WWZsv/z/ d e ,4

1 Iii/ w \P/ PIL Patented May 4, 1943 UNl'iE sir can STACKER ApplicationMay. 31. 1940, Serial o. 333.252, 12 Claims. (01. 214-6) The inventionrelates to improvements in can stackers and has for its primaryobject'the 'provision of an improi ed can stacker so constructed and.arranged as to place cans in a stack for stor age or other purposesautomatically, which is of simple constructi'on'and highly eificient' inuse.

Other' objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists of the combinations and arrangements of partshereinafter. described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reierence to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification, and in which Fig. l is atop'plan view'oi a can stacker ernbodying the invention;

Fig. 2 a longitudinal vertical section thereot;

Fig. 2a. an enlarged detail view talgen substantially on line 2a2a ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 a front end View of the machine;

Fig. 4 an enlarged detail partial elevation of the upper portion of acan conveyor employed in the stacker;

Fig. 5 a horizontal section oi the. stacking end of the machine;

Fig. 6 a. section taken substantially on line 66 of Fig. 5 j

Fig. 7 an enlarged plan. View of a portion of a can clamping arrangementemployed in the stacker and showing the same in position to clamp thecans;

Fig. 8 a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing the clamping arrangement inposition to release the cans;

Fig. .9 a top plan view illustrating the mechanism: for actuating thecan clamps for clamping and releasing the cans and associated parts; and

Fig. 10 a partial section illustrating mechanism employed for elevatingand lowering the can clamps.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings comprises aninclined can chute 20, best shown Fig. 3, adapted and arranged tocontain a plurality of cans 2i on their sides so that they willautomatically roll into the machine. A can guide in the form of verticalrods 23 is arranged in the frame of the machine at the bottom oi thechute 29 and in a position to constitute a stop for the cans rollingdown said chute, said guide rods 23 being positioned centrally withreference to the vertical frame bars 24 of this portion of the machine.A can conveyor is arranged within theframe bars 24 in the form of twosprocket chains 25 operating over sprockets Z5 and?! positioned,respectively, at the top and bottom of the'fraine' bars 24, as

shown. The chains 25 carry inwardly projecting pins 25', best shown inFigs. 1 and ejanjangeu at intervalson said chains intransverseregistration with each other and so thata' regist ng pairof'said 'p'i'ns, will contactwith'bppos'ite sides of the lowermost can21 in elevator at slow speed, as will be', readily'nnder stood. A'curvedcan guidetfi. is arranged as in} dicated over and 'betvle'erifthe topsof t he sprockets 2B, and whereby the cans 21337111 be carried' aroundthe topof the can guide 23'; best indicated" in' Fig. Land whereby the"cans will be correspondingly lowered on the other side of the canconveyor. l

As. best shown in Figs. 1 and 3;, another can chute31 is arranged toproject into the between the pins 25" 'so that as the cansare loweredthey will contact with the upper end i e fe .1m h W l s 'seesae d ai thepins 25 and'guide was 23 rglling down the chute 3i which is inclined asshown for this urpose. Suitable guide rods 33 are arranged above and atthe sides of the chute 31 to maintai cans thereon as they roll to thelower endthere- A e a u e 1 s a n d shown around the lower end of thechute 3" to deflect the can-S wh n h r0 t of Said chute dorma d an inw na ho i n a tab leaf 48, which is carried by a rocker shait 41, as bestshown in g- 2, swing v t el and. has i O e edge e i p 2 an le. ba 92extending along that side of the machine, as shvwnl AS be eh n n 2, hable. lea in constitutes an extension of an arranging table 43 arrangedin horizontalfregistration with said table leaf 4i as shown. The shaft4i carries a gear ,4 sh n with a air 9 a s which in turn mesh with agear 41? carrying a rocker m. {11 e e ed. by a 1 '38, wit n" O erat gear.1 which in u n meshes W a e on a ha t 2- As best shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3, the shaft 52 carries a clutch mechanism 53 s pliT and cooperatingwith'a beverages the shaft 52 and meshing'with" abe'vel the ent re 2tand as vate said can 'in contact withthe' correspondhe a on an inclinedshaft 58 carrying a bevel gear 57 meshing with a bevel gear 58 on themain drive shaft 58 of the machine. The drive shaft 59 is constantlydriven at slow speed by means of a motor M operatively connectedtherewith through gearing enclosed in a gear housing 88'. The clutch 58is engaged by a clutch fork 88 on a control rod 8! arranged along theside of the chute 37 and extending to the lower end thereof. At itslower end the control rod 6| is provided with an upwardly extending armhaving a projection 82 at its end set in the path of an arm.

83 on a shaft 84 carrying a ratchet 65, the ar A 83 being arranged toengage the projection atone point in its revolution on the shaft 64 andforce the control rod BI to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, as will bereadily understood.

As best shown in Figs. 1, 2a and 3, a squirrel cage gear 88 is arrangedon a shaft 81 extending transversely at the lower end of the chute 31and whereby the bars of said squirrel cage gear 88 will engage theteethof the ratchet 85 to rotate the shaft 84. The shaft 67 is providedwith three operating arms 68 projecting upwardly into the path of thecans rolling off of the lower end of the chute 31 so that as each canpasses the ratchet 65 will he stepped up the space of one tooth. Thereare twelve teeth in the ratchet 85 so that when twelve cans have thuspassed off of the chute 31, the ratchet 85 and shaft 64 will have beencaused to make one complete revolution. The arrangement is such that atthe completion of such a revolution the arm 88 engages the projection 82to push the control rod 6| to engage the shaft 52 with the gear 54 andthus rock the shaft M to swing the table leaf 48 upwardly through anangle of 160, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. This upwardswinging of the table leaf 48 will, of course, carry the twelve cansthereon upwardly and to the right to place the same in a row in anupright position on the edge of the table 43, as will be readilyunderstood, and also pushing said cans, and any cans already positionedon said table, back from said edge the widths of the newly positionedcans. Continued rotation of gear 58 returns the table leaf 48 to itsoriginal position.

The control rod GI also carries a lower extension 89 having an upwardprojection I8 at its end which will be carried into engagement with thebars of the squirrel cage gear 86 when the control rod 8! is thusshifted by the arm 83 and whereby the shaft 61 and its arm 88 will betemporarily locked to prevent the further passage of cans during thisupward swinging of the table leaf 48. The gear 58 carries a camprojection II, best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, which is arranged to contactwith the end of the control rod BI as soon as the table leaf 48 hasreturned to its original position and thus return said rod BI toinitialposition, thereby releasing the arms 88 for the further passageof cans.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a reciprocating pawl arm I2 is pivotallyconnected with the joint between the arm 41 and the link 48 and carriesa pawl I3 cooperating with a ratchet wheel I4 on a shaft I5 whichcarries an arm I6 cooperating with a stop I! on the side of a clutchfork I8 engaging a clutch 18 on the shaft 59. The clutch I9 cooperateswith clutch members 88 on a bevel gear 81 which is loose on the shaft 59and whereby when the clutch I8 is operated to the right, in the positionindicated in Fig. 2, the gear BI will be operatively connected to bedriven by the shaft 58, as will be readily understood. The

ratchet wheel I4 contains eight teeth, so that it requires eightoperations of the arm I2 to cause one complete revolution of the shaftI5 and the arm I8. Obviously. as each row of twelve cans is thus placedon the edge of the table 43, the ratchet wheel I4 will be stepped up thespace of one of its teeth, and thereby a complete revolution of the armI6 will be caused every time eight rows of cans are thus placed on theedge of table 43. The arrangement is such that when the last row of cansis thus placed on the edge of said table the arm I6 contacts with thestop 11 operating the clutch fork I8 to shift the clutch "19 to causeoperation of the bevel gear 8| as explained above.

As indicated by the dotted lines at the central left portion of Fig. 2,a bevel gear 82 is arranged as indicated to mesh temporarily with thegear 8I during its rotation, as explained above. The gear 82,illustrated in full lines at the right of Fig. 2, is carried by avertical shaft 83, best shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 9. The shaft 83 leadsvertically into gear box 84 mounted upon a carriage 85 which in turn isarranged to reciprocate on wheels 85' operating in a frame 86, asindicated. A shaft 84' projects laterally from the gear box 84 and isconnected by bevel gearing 8I,with two shafts 88 mounted as indicated onthe frame 85. The shafts 88 carry four cranks 89 connected by links 88with arms 8I rigidly secured at their upper ends to hangers 92 havingoperating levers 93 pivotally mounted thereon by means of stud shafts 84projecting upwardly through said hangers and rotatably mounted thereinby means of nuts 94' at their tops, as best shown in Fig. 10, andwhereby the levers 83 are given a floating bearing on the cranks of thecrank shafts 88, as will be readily understood. The levers 93 carry theclamping bars 95 and 98. pivotally suspended therefrom by means of theswivel pins 91 and '98 which are welded to the outer sides of the bars95 and 98 and serve to hang said bars from said levers. One set ofclamping members 99 is secured to the under sides of the clamping bars95 by means of bolts I08 and clamping members I8! are secured to theunder sides of the clamping bars 96 by means of the bolts I82. Theclamping members 99 and I8I are provided on their under sides withnotched clamping heads I83 adapted and arranged to engage under the rimsor chimes of the cans 2| as they stand arranged on the table 43. Thearrangement is such that as the shafts 88 are thus rotated by the actionof the gear 8! the clamping heads I83 will be lowered into cooperationwith the tops of the cans, as will be readily understood.

As best shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, the levers 93 are connected in pairsby slot and pin connections I84 with a central operating link I85 whichin turn is connected as indicated with a crank arm I86 on the bottom ofa rocker shaft I81 carrying a gear I88 meshing with a gear I89 on arocker shaft III], which in turn carries a notched rocker arm III havinga notch H2 in its free end. The notch I2 cooperates with a stop H3 on anendless chain II4 having one side traveling through a housing II5, asbest shown in Figs. 5 and 9. The chain II4 travels over sprockets H8 andIll mounted, as shown, at the ends of the housing H5, the sprocket H6being secured to the shaft 83 and rotating thereby. The arrangement issuch that with the parts in the positions indicated by the dotted linesin Fig. 9, the stop II3 engages the notch H2 and swings the arm IIIthrough an angle as shown before it passes out of said notch. Thisoperation of arm I II operates the clamping bars 95 and 96 through theaction of the levers 93 to cause the clamping heads I03 to engage thetops of the cans resting upon the table 43. Im-

mediately thereafter the continued rotation of the shafts 8i! raises thelevers 93 and, consequently, the clamping members so that the entirelayer of cans is thus elevated from its position on the table 43.

A slide H8 is mounted as shown on the housing H and carries a projectionII9 set in the path of the stop IIiI as it travels along the other sideof the housing I5 and pushes the slide II8 into the full line positionindicated in Fig. 9. The slide I I8 is connected by link I with a rockerarm I2 I operatively connected with a lever arm I22 through a slot andpin connection I23, as best shown in Fig. 5. The lever arm I22 has arigid connection with a mutilated gear I24 having blank spaces I 25 atdiametrically opposite sides thereof. As best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,the gear I24 cooperates with a pinion I26, normally resting over one ofthe blank spaces I25. The pinion I25 is carried by a transverse shaft I2'! driven by gearing I28 and I29 from the shaft 59. The arrangement issuch that the movement thus given to the lever I22 rocks the gear I24 ina clock hand wise direction to bring the gear I24 into mesh with thepinion I26 and whereby said gear will be rotated through approximately180" by the continued action of the shaft I2? and pinion I26 until theblank space I25 on the other side of the gear I24 passes under thepinion I25, whereupon this revolution will stop, by which time the partswill be in the positions indicated in full lines in the drawings. Thelever I22 carries a roller I21 operating between two guide bars I28carried by brackets I29 secured to the carriage 05, as indicated, and

whereby the swinging of the lever. I22 will cause the movement of saidcarriage from its initial position to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, ofcourse carrying the layer of cans with it, at which time the layer ofcans will be directly over the stack of cans being formed. This movementof the carriage 85 carries the gear 82 into mesh with a gear I30 onshaft 59, thereby rotating the shaft 83 in a direction opposite to thatcaused by the gear 8i, as will be readily understood. The reversal ofthe direction of rotation of shaft 83 of course reverses the directionof travel of the chain H4 and the shafts 88.

The arrangement is such that this action of the shafts 88 will causelowering of the clamping members, thereby lowering the layer of cansonto the top of the stack, on which the usual sheet of heavy paper orthe like has already been deposited by hand. The stop H3 and the leverHI are so-shaped and rounded that said stop will freely pass over theexposed portion of said lever in either direction of movement so thatsaid stop is now free to pass around the sprocket Ill and engage the armII I in its lower position, as indicated in Fig. 9, such engagementrocking the arm I I I back to initial position to release the cans andthus properly place them on the top of the stack being formed. Continuedmovement of the stop II3 causes the same to pass around the sprocket H6and reengage the projection IIS on its other side to shift the slide H8back to its initial or dotted line position, as indicated in Fig. 9.This shifting of the slide II 8 of course shifts the arm I2I and thelever I22 to cause re-engagement of the gear I24 with turn is connectedthrough gearing the pinion I26 which thereby reverses the movementof thecarriage returning it to initial position and re-engaging the gear 82with the gear SI. 7

The carriage 85 carries an arm I 3I, best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, set toengage a corresponding arm I32 on the clutch fork I8, thereby disen--gaging the clutch I9 from the gear 81 so as to discontinue all operationof the parts on the carriage 85 until a new layer of cans has beenestablished on the table 43, whereupon the operation will be repeated,as explained above, to transfer the new layer of cans over the stackbeing formed and deposit it thereon, as will be readily understood. Asbest shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the frame 86 carries guide rollers orwheels I34 operating in vertical guide posts I35 on the main frame ofthe machine so that the frame 36 is thus rendered free to travelvertically carrying all of the operating parts of the transfer mechanismwith it. The frame 00 is suspended upon cables I33 which pass verticallyover guide sheaves I36 and are Wrapped upon drums I31 carried by a shaftI38 operated by suitable gearing in the gear box I39 from a shaft I40connected through clutch mechanism I II with. a drive shaft I42, whichin in a gear box I43 with shaft I24 constantly driven through gearing inthe gear box 33 by the motor M and whereby the frame 86 and all theparts thereon will be slowly elevated through the action of the motor Mthe height of a can during the period occupied by the parts intransferring and depositing a can layer on the stack and returning toinitial positions so that there will be a continuc-us operation of themachine as long a cans are supplied to the chute 20 and until theextreme height of stack permitted to be made by the machine is reached.A lever I45 is operatively connected as indicated with the clutch I4I sothat said frame 86 may be disconnected from the motor M as and whendesired and to permit of suitable manual adjustments of the parts whennecessary. In this way an automatic can stacker is provided which ispractically entirely automatic in operation and which will-thereforestack cans for storage with great efficiency and economy.

In operation cans are delivered to the outer side of the elevator,rolling on their sides to positions against the inner guide rods whencethey are picked up by the elevator fingers, carried to the top of theelevator and then down the inner side thereof, until they are removed bythe slightly sloping can chute 32. The cans then roll along this chutetothe opposite'end thereof where they pass the control mechanism 62-70which causes the receiving plate to operate when the twelfth can passesthe control as explained above. The receiving plate is then swungupwardly through an angle of about and thus raises the cans to anupright position and slides them forward.

The next twelve cans similarly cause a repetition of this operationuntil eight rows of cans have thus been placed in position on the table43. At the end of these eight operations arm 16 has made a completerevolution and contacts stop I7 and then brings into action the carriage85 which lifts the ninety-six cans from the table 23. carries them to aposition over the stack, lowers them onto the stack, releases them, andthen returns it 'to its original position over said table, thuscompleting one cycle of operation of the machine.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying the in-

